More Controversy For Stephen Ambrose

Two more books by best-selling historian
Stephen
Ambrose
Stephen Ambrose
have been identified as works containing words and phrases borrowed from other books, apparently without giving appropriate credit to the authors.

Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers and Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1973-1990, both published by
Simon & Schuster
, appear to borrow freely from certain source books without using quotation marks. These two books were brought to the attention of Forbes.com after The Weekly Standard earlier this week noted that Ambrose's current bestseller, The Wild Blue, recycles words and phrases from another historian's work.

After The Weekly Standard report appeared, Forbes.com identified Ambrose's Crazy Horse and Custer as lifting words and phrases from a source in a similar fashion. (See "Ambrose Has Done It Before.") That report prompted several e-mails from readers nominating other Ambrose books for inspection.

Among them was a note from military historian
Joseph
Balkoski
Joseph Balkoski
, who said he was "very disappointed and somewhat depressed" when Citizen Soldiers came out in 1997, and he came across certain passages that relied heavily on his 1989 book Beyond the Beachhead. "The writing seemed very familiar, and much to my astonishment, it was my own," he said today in an interview. "He will footnote me, but the writing is either identical or subtly changed without using quotation marks."

Ruin and Recovery, published in 1991, is the third volume of Ambrose's three-volume biography of Richard Nixon. It contains numerous sentences and passages that are identical or very similar to parts of Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard M. Nixon, a 1984 book by Robert Sam Anson. Not only did the two books share the same publisher, but also according to the authors' acknowledgment sections, both were edited by the well-known Simon & Schuster mainstay
Alice
Mayhew
Alice Mayhew
. As in the other instances, Ambrose cites Anson's book, but does not put quote marks around the borrowed material.

Anson could not be reached for comment, but Simon & Schuster spokeswoman Victoria Meyer said that the publisher would work with Ambrose "to correct anything that needs to be corrected," if indeed there are problems of this sort in any Ambrose books put out by Simon & Schuster. But the publisher, a unit of
Viacom
, will continue to proudly publish Ambrose. "This doesn't affect his status as an important and original historian," Meyer said.

On Jan. 6, Ambrose released a statement apologizing to
Thomas
Childers
Thomas Childers
, the historian whose words he said he inadvertently borrowed in Wild Blue. Ambrose in his statement said the words in question would be placed in quotations in future editions.

The Jan. 9 edition of the Times-Picayune of New Orleans quoted Ambrose regarding the earlier Forbes.com report on similarities in the two Custer books. Ambrose told the newspaper that his footnotes and acknowledgment section in Crazy Horse and Custer had made his debt clear to the late
Jay
Monaghan
Jay Monaghan
, author of the earlier work. But Ambrose added, "There are places where I used some of his words, and I should have put quote marks around it."

Paraphrasing Ambrose, the Times-Picayune said the historian indicated that he "would be surprised if more examples of borrowed text without attribution surface, but he was less than certain. 'I don't know. It's a lot of books,' Ambrose said."

A phone call placed today to Ambrose's office in Helena, Mont., was returned by a research assistant, Robert Lynn, who said Ambrose had no comment at this time regarding the Balkoski and Anson books.

Ambrose, 65, has published more than 20 books over the past 30 years, many of them bestsellers.

In his World War II book Citizen Soldiers, Ambrose clearly acknowledges his debt to Beyond the Beachhead, which was published by
Stackpole Books
. "I also stole material profitably if shamelessly" from Balkoski's book and from that of another historian, Ambrose writes in an author's note. He also cites Balkoski in the text--but the relevant passages tend to borrow Balkoski's words freely without using quote marks.

For instance, here is Ambrose on page 76: "Men from the 3rd Battalion draped the body with the Stars and Stripes and hoisted it on top of a huge pile of stones that once had been a wall in the Saint Croix Church, a block from the cemetery. Howie's body remained on display through the next day, July 19. GIs and some of the few civilians remaining in the town adorned the site with flowers."

Here is Balkoski's version, on pages 276-77 of his book: "The next morning, the 29ers draped the body with the Stars and Stripes and hoisted it on top of a huge pile of stones that had once been a wall of Sainte Croix Church, one block west of the cemetery. The body remained on display throughout July 19. The 29ers and some of the few civilians remaining in the city adorned the site with flowers." (For more text comparisons between the two World War II books, and also between the two Nixon books, see "When Ambrose Met Balkoski And Anson.")

Balkoski said he had mixed feelings about the situation because Ambrose's books have done so much to interest the public in World War II books, and because Ambrose wrote the forward to a 1999 softcover edition of Beyond the Beachhead.

But Balkoski said it angered him that a professional historian such as Ambrose would copy a fellow author's words without using quote marks. "I was a history major," he said, "and one of the first things they teach you in your freshman year is that this stuff is a no-no."

Balkoski said he did not raise a fuss about the matter when Citizen Soldiers first came out because he assumed it was an isolated case. Then he saw the reports this week about Wild Blue and Crazy Horse and Custer. "It really shocked me, because it clearly revealed a pattern," he said.

Balkoski noted that like most historians, but unlike Ambrose, he is unable to support himself as a full-time author. He has a day job designing strategy computer games for
Big Huge Games
of Hunt Valley, Md.

Some professional historians may grumble about Ambrose's methods, but others defend him. In any case it is unclear whether his readers will be bothered by the current controversy. Ed Kary, an Ambrose fan from Wailea, Hawaii, told Forbes.com that Ambrose's alleged transgressions sounded like "minor foibles."

In an e-mail, Kary praised Ambrose for having "brought such richness to historical topics and get someone like myself interested in reading and learning about important American historical subjects such as World War II and the journey of Lewis and Clark. His writings have helped me become more appreciative of what it means to be an American citizen."

"Suddenly, he gave a whoop and raced forward, the squad following, yelling like wild men. As they tossed grenades into the windows, Cota and another man kicked in the front door, tossed a couple of grenades inside, waited for the explosions, then dashed into the house. The surviving Germans inside were streaming out the back door, running for their lives."

Balkoski, pg. 155:

"Suddenly, the general and his group raced forward, screaming like wild men, hurling grenades in the windows. Cota and another man kicked in the front door, tossed a few more grenades inside, waited for the explosions, and then disappeared into the house. As the rest of Cota's team followed him inside, the Germans streamed out the back and ran for their lives."

Ambrose, pg. 75:

"The center of the place was a lifeless pile of rubble in which roads and sidewalks could scarcely be distinguished."

Balkoski, pg. 267:

"The center of the city was a lifeless pile of rubble. Few houses had been spared; roads and sidewalks could scarcely be distinguished."

Ambrose: pg. 33:

"In Normandy in June 1944, the 29th Division captured enemy troops of so many different nationalities that one GI blurted to his company commander, 'Captain, just who the hell are we fighting anyway?'"

Balkoski, pg. 170:

"In the next several days, the 175th captured enemy troops of so many different ethnic backgrounds that one G.I. blurted to his company CO, 'Captain, just who the hell are we fighting, anyway?'"

"Dr. John Lungren, chief of staff at Long Beach Memorial Hospital and Nixon's longtime personal physician, was called to the estate. He discovered that Nixon's left leg was swollen to nearly three times its normal size, indicating the presence of a substantial clot in the leg, caused by a return of the phlebitis that had almost felled him back in June, in Egypt. Lungren warned Nixon that there was the potential of a life-threatening embolism and recommended strongly that he enter a hospital immediately. Nixon refused. Lungren then prescribed drugs to bring down the swelling and the wearing of a support stocking."

Anson, pp. 61-62:

"Over Nixon's protests, John Lungren, a prominent Long Beach internist and Nixon's longtime personal physician, was summoned to the estate. Lungren was not happy with what he found. Nixon's leg was swollen nearly a third its normal size, indicating the presence of a substantial clot. Lungren warned Nixon that there was the potential of a life-threatening embolism and recommended strongly that he enter a hospital immediately. Nixon refused. Lungren, who had treated him since 1952, knew it was pointless to argue. Instead, having prescribed drugs to bring down the swelling and the wearing of a support stocking, he left it to Pat to argue the case for hospitalization."

Ambrose, pg. 472:

"He talked slowly, painfully. He was still connected to various life-support systems, nauseated, feverish. But he kept talking. He ranged over his life. He was reflective, even philosophical, except when he talked about Watergate--then he was bitter and combative. Gannon felt both privileged and terrified to be there."

Anson, pg. 80:

"The pace was slow, and for Nixon, still connected to various life-support systems, nauseous, feverish and in considerable post-operative pain, agonizing. He ranged over the whole of his life, especially the events of his presidency. During most moments, his tone was reflective, philosophical; at other times, particularly in relation to Watergate, he was bitter and combative. Listening to him reflect on the past, Gannon felt both privileged and terrified..."

Ambrose, pg. 501:

"Repeatedly, Nixon demanded to know whether Ford had followed up on the contacts he had provided in various cities and states. Gulley would reply that to the best of his knowledge, Ford had done so. 'Well, goddamn it, I checked, and he hasn't,' Nixon would explode, 'and the guy is getting pissed.'"

Anson, pg. 149:

"Repeatedly, Nixon demanded to know whether Ford had followed up on the contacts he had provided him in various cities and states. When Gulley would tell him that to the best of his knowledge he had, Nixon would explode, 'Well, goddamn it, I checked, and he hasn't, and the guy is getting pissed.'"

Ambrose, pg. 544:

"Despite herself, Rosalynn Carter was impressed by Nixon. She told a fellow passenger he was more charming than she'd imagined, indeed he was almost nice."

Anson, pg. 253:

"Even Rosalynn Carter, to whom Nixon continued to play flattering deference, was impressed. Nixon, she confided to a fellow passenger, was so much more charming than she had imagined; he was, well, almost nice."